Harry Potter Sidestories
by madeleniuz
Summary: Harry, Ron and Hermione are busy with DA when Hermione notices that something isn't right with Hannah Abbott, the new prefect from Hufflepuff and a member of DA. Why does she seem like a completely different person? A small sidestory to the 5th book of HP. I do not own HP; No infringement is intended. Rated T for blood, just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE: **Once again I want to point out that english isn't my first language,  
so I would appreciate if you all would tell me when the text doesn't make sense to you.  
Thank you.  
**_**

**1.**

It was winter and the snow was falling down like heavy clouds from the sky,  
painting the entire world in beautiful shades of white. Harry didn't know there could be so many different whites but it fascinated him. It was one detail he had never really noticed before. The snow was so white and bright in the afternoon sun that he had to squint his eyes to see anything at all.  
He sat by the window in the Gryffindor tower, looking out at the world from the other side of the glass where it was warm and cozy. Downstairs the fire was burning; he could hear the cracking noise of the wood through the silence. Except from him the tower was completely empty. Everything around him was silent and still and it made him feel relaxed for once. He had walked up to the tower in hope of sorting out some chaotic feelings he had had for a while, with these dreams haunting him. The long corridor, the door that he wanted to open so desperately, it all was a mystery to him. Since Voldemort had risen last year with the help of his blood, perhaps there could be a connection there. He was too tired to think about it, the dream could mean anything. Right now, he just wanted to have a moment to himself.  
Downstairs he could suddenly hear the door open and footsteps moving up the stairs and to the boys' room. Harry turned around and saw Ron stepping inside. He was wearing casual clothes, a knitted sweater from his lovely mother Molly, and a pair of brown pants. His red hair was all over the place and still wet from being outside in the snow, small drops of water dripped down on the floor.

"So this is where you've been hiding all afternoon." He said and took another step in to the room. "Hermione thought you'd be here. "  
Harry nodded and rose to his feet, stretching out his body to wake it up from sitting still for so long.

"I just needed to think for a while."

Ron gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder and smiled. In some weird way it made him feel relieved and he smiled back towards his friend.

"Come on, let's get a snack."

They walked out of the room and to the great hall, eagerly discussing quiditch along the way. So far, nothing in particular had happened. The first match would be in a few weeks and Gryffindors first opponent would be Ravenclaw. A match they most definitely would win, Ron was convinced. Harry too but he didn't want to brag before the match – anything could happen.  
In the great hall Hermione sat waiting for them with her nose deep in a book. The book was surely about some very complex potion or spell and the book was bigger then her entire upper body. _As usual_.

"Hey Hermione, watcha reading there?" Ron asked and sat down in front of her while Harry sat down to her right.

"I don't really have the energy to explain it to you Ron, no offense." She said without looking up. "Hi Harry."

"Hi Hermione." He answered and grabbed a piece of bread and started buttering it. Ron gave out a sigh and rolled his eyes.

"Could you please stop reading for a second Hermione and be social?"  
She looked up from the book and gave Ron a cold glance before she closed the book.

"Do you have anything important you want to talk about?" she asked with a poisonous smile. Ron gave Harry a look that said 'make something up, quick', but Harry actually had something he wanted to talk about.

"Well, I was thinking about tonight's DA meeting and thought that we could try out some dueling for once, you know, use the spells we've taught them in combat. I mean, not really a duel, just with some simple spells, not the dangerous ones. I thought it could be helpful."

Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement.  
"You're right, anyone can use a spell in day to day living, but when it comes to a real combat with pumping adrenalin and real fear… that's a completely different thing." Hermione said.

"We could use a spell to make our practice-dolls move around. We haven't really tried to hit a moving target before." Ron said eagerly.

They all seemed to have such great ideas about tonight's lesson that Hermione had to start taking notes. In Harrys five years at Hogwarts had he never been this excited, it felt as if he was actually doing something for once. Most of the time he was waiting around, worrying about Voldemort and the whole dying thing, letting others protect him and help him. But now he was actually taking the matter in to his own hands. He was changing his destiny, he would win this war and it made him feel confident and strong, like he could do _anything._

"I wonder if Hannah will be absent tonight again, she's been missing out on the last sessions we've had." Hermione gave out a sigh and put the pen down, massaging her fingers after the intense writing.

"I've met her in the corridor and she looks fine, but she's acting like a completely different person. When I said hi she gave me this look…" Hermione shivered demonstratively and gave both Harry and Ron that look_, that_ look that said 'something is not right so we should investigate'.

"I haven't really noticed that she's any stranger than usual, she is pretty shy." Ron glanced over at the Hufflepuff table and Harry did the same but they couldn't see her among the other faces.

"I mean, she's a prefect now. You don't behave like that unless something is wrong. What if something happened?" Hermione looked at the boys with worried eyes and started to bite her nails, a habit she had had for a while now. She herself absolutely loathed her new habit and had asked both Ron and Harry to point it out whenever she did it. She said she wanted to save out her nails, and perhaps paint them in a nice color. This shocked the boys almost to death.

"Hermione, don't bite your nails." Harry pointed out. Her hand flew down to her lap where she braided her fingers together.

"First of all, I don't really think that's any of our business." Harry continued and gave both Hermione and Ron a long look.

"Second of all, we all have problems and baggage. I think we should just leave her alone for a while, perhaps she will talk to us when she's ready."

Hermione crossed her arms and gave Harry a disappointed look but he ignored it. He looked over at the Hufflepuff table one last time but there was no sign of Hannah. It was probably nothing or some stupid love issue. It didn't really matter what it was, either way he didn't want to get involved with it. He had enough on his mind as it was.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

Harry was walking down the corridor in a hurry. He had been in the library, finding some books as a mission from Hermione. The books weren't that big but they were heavy and Harry was out of breath already. He had to carry the books to the Room of Requirement before the lesson began and start preparing. The books blocked his vision, so his eyes were focused at his feet so he wouldn't stumble on something and trip. This really was too troublesome to do by yourself, he should have asked Ron for help.  
"Do you need any help with that, Harry?" he suddenly heard a voice say. He stopped for a second and saw a pair of bare feet standing in front of him.  
"Luna, is that you?"  
"Indeed it is. Let me help you with those."  
The books felt lighter and he could actually see in front of him now. Luna was standing in front of him with her blond hair in two messy braids. Her green eyes stared at him in that way she used to look at him, like she could see right through him. It used to scare him, the way she looked at him, but now he knew it was just how Luna was. She was one of his closest friends and he valued her dearly.  
"Thanks Luna, I have to leave this off before the lesson."  
"Oh, how exciting. What will tonights lesson teach us?" They started to walk towards the Room of Requirement.  
"Oh, you'll just have to see for yourself. But I can tell you it will be interesting."  
"This sounds really exciting Harry. I'm always looking forward to our meetings. It's so nice to talk to everyone without having to watch over your back constantly."  
Harry nodded and smiled towards her.  
"I agree."

They reached the classroom and Harry opened the door and stepped inside. The fire lighted up immediately and gave the room an eerie look. Without it's members it was a bit scary being inside. Luna walked up to a table in the front, her feet barely making any noise on the cold stonefloor, and put down the books.  
"Puh, those books sure were heavy." She said and wiped her hand on her forehead. Harry put down the rest of the books on the table and gave out a sigh.  
"Well then, let's get going. It's not time yet and we don't want people to start wondering where we are." He said.  
"Wait Harry, there's actually something I have to tell you." She said in a quiet but steady voice and she actually looked upset. Nothing ever seemed to trouble Luna so this surprised Harry. He took a step forward and gave his friend a worried look.  
"Did something happen?"  
"You could say that. I was planning on talking to you after tonights lesson, I need it to be behind closed walls."  
Harry nodded and showed Luna to a couple of chairs and they sat down.  
"About a month ago I was taking a walk outside, there was no snow out and I was looking for Blibbering Humdingers. I was searching behind a very suspicious bush when I noticed a certain someone standing in the shadows of Hagrid's old house."  
"It's still his house." Harry corrected Luna with a bitter tone.  
"Well, I guess we can discuss that some other time. Anyways, I was hiding behind my bush when I spotted the cute Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff. She seemed to pick something up from the ground; I couldn't really see what it was but ever since then there's been this greenish light around her. You can barely see it, only when the sun is setting."  
Harry listened eagerly to Luna's story. It was indeed weird since Hermione had expressed her worries about Hannah just hours earlier. And what was this item Hannah had found on the ground and near Hagrids house? Of all the places, why had she been there? Harry couldn't resist the temptation and let his brain work on full speed.  
"Hermione told me earlier that Hannah seemed… not like herself." Harry explained. "Like she was a complete different person."  
"I guess that could be possible if the item she picked up carried a soul within it. Then the soul would have easy access to her body, especially if she's wearing it a lot."  
Harry and Luna rose to their feet and walked out of the room. They didn't even have to say anything,, they knew what the other one was thinking. They had to find Hannah and find out more about that certain item, before it could do some serious harm on her.

Harry and Luna ran up to the Gryffindor tower to find Hermione and Ron sitting next to the fire. They were playing wizard-chess, the only thing Ron was better at than Hermione. This fact made him very happy and proud, and he always wanted to play against her just to point out his superiority at the game.  
"I can not believe you take this so seriously Ron." Hermione said and moved her king for some odd reason.  
"I'm better at everything else. You being good at wizard chess don't make you better than me. It just makes you sad for believing it."  
"Stop bragging and focus on the game Hermione." Ron sighed out and let his knight smash one of her pawns. Now she had none left. Hermione gave out a big sigh and pushed the game to Ron's end.  
"I don't feel like playing." She said and looked away to notice Harry and Luna standing in the doorway.  
"Oh, hi Harry, hi Luna. What's up? You look like you've been running."  
"Hermione, I think we should investigate this whole matter with Hannah Abbott." Harry said and walked up to her and Ron. Luna was right after him, tipping on her toes on the soft carpet.  
"Luna just told me a very interesting story." He said and made a gesture at Luna who suddenly seemed very busy playing with the soft carpet. She looked up, a bit confused, but understood what she was supposed to do by Harrys look. So she told her story, one more time, for both Ron and Hermione. The three of them eagerly listened to Luna's story about Hannah, and it all did seem suspicious, to all of them.  
"I knew something was wrong!" Hermione burst out and banged her fist on the table. "And you told me it probably was nothing Harry, Ha!"  
"Hermione, this isn't the time to be all high and mighty. This is a serious problem." Ron said in a try to be mature but fell silent when Hermione gave him a killing look.  
"I do think it's worth having a look at." Harry said, ignoring their childish discussion. "We don't know if it might be an item that's possessed like Luna said. In that case it might be dangerous for her."  
"Yes, that's correct. If Hannah were to carry this item for to long the soul might take over her body completely, and Hannah would be lost. This is some serious magic." Hermione explained.  
"I read it in a book called…"  
"Yes, that's quite alright Hermione." Ron interrupted.  
"We don't need to hear which book right not, we've got important things to take care of. Let's go find Hannah before the lesson starts."


	3. Chapter 3

**3.**

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Luna were running through one of the many corridors at Hogwarts, running so fast that most students they passed had to stop and think who it was that actually ran past them. When they came to a crossroad they stopped for a second to catch their breath, Luna coming in last.

"I think we should split up." gasped Harry.

"Ron, Hermione, try talking to the other prefects if they've seen her. Luna, you and I will go to Hufflepuff's basement."

Ron and Hermione darted away with once while Harry and Luna waited a little longer to catch their breath.

"This is getting really exciting." Luna said with an innocent smile on her lips.  
"It's like we're detectives. I've always wanted to try out being a detective at least once."

Harry laughed at Luna for being so blunt in this serious situation, somehow it assured him that everything would be fine, that it was probably just some small love-issue. He grabbed her hand and they started jogging towards the basement. They asked every Hufflepuffstudent along the way if they had seen Hannah. The more they asked about her, the more they got Luna's theory confirmed: Hannah was possessed by something. The question now was: what kind of soul was it that had possessed her? Was it a dangerous soul? Could it already be to late? Harry and Luna gave each other a worried look and continued their run towards the Hufflepuffbasement.  
_

"Ron, wait up!"

Hermione leaned against the cold stonewall, completely out of breath. Athletics had never really been her thing but since she started to hang out with Harry and Ron she had found herself constantly in running-situations. To bad she hadn't gotten any better at it.

"Hermione, we have to hurry." Ron said and gave out a sigh.  
"I know that." Hermione hissed at him. She was getting irritated of his attitude towards her, so superior.

It was rather pathetic and she knew it. It was stupid of her to act this way but then again, Ron always seemed to tick her off.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to push you but something might have happened to Hannah." Ron walked up to Hermione and grabbed her hand.

"Come on, let's get going."

They started jogging down the hall, Ron in the front and Hermione behind him, which was good since she could feel her entire face turn red. She couldn't focus on anything but only stare at Ron's big hand holding hers so gently. She could even feel his bodyheat radiating from his body and hand, and it sent tingles through her arm, down her spine. She laughed at herself for reacting like this; he had held her hand before, but this felt… different, though he didn't seem to notice, inattentive as usual.  
Ron looked back at her and stopped for a second.

"Hermione are you all right? You're all red, are you feeling sick?"

And that was the last drop. Hermione pulled her hand away from his and marched forward, ignoring his words. Idiot, didn't understand a thing about girls. Holding hands meant more to girls than most guys thought. But Hermione couldn't really blame him  
for not understanding, it was Ron after all. Inattentive as usual… or just plain stupid.  
_

Harry and Luna had finally reached the basement and were now in the kitchen. They both felt a little lost since neither of them had ever even seen the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. They started to look everywhere, behind stoves, cartons, boxes, barrels but they couldn't even find a doorknob.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Luna asked and looked around.

"I knew the entrance was hidden, but this is just ridiculous." Harry mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

He felt empty in his head, like there was just a big nothingness. It made him frustrated that he couldn't think of anything, and they were running out of time. Their DA lesson/meeting would start in less than one hour. He gave Luna a defeated look when they suddenly heard a laughter and it hit him.

"The Fat Friar!" Harry burst out and started to run towards the laughter that could only belong to one person, the Hufflepuff house-ghost.

The Fat Friar would surely know where Hannah was, and he could probably confirm if Hannah really was possessed. Luna darted after and they ran side by side until they turned around a corner and spotted the ghost. He was standing with a couple of  
Hufflepuff students near some barrels standing stacked on each other.

"Fat Friar, we need your help." Luna said and interrupted their conversation.

The old ghost turned around with a gentle smile on his lips and Harry got the feeling he wasn't the only one who could see through the other. The Fat Friar had the look of someone who could read you as easily as an open book.

"Miss Hannah Abbott isn't here I'm afraid, haven't seen her since lunch. Though I do believe she might be at Hagrid's house,  
looking after his garden…"

Harry started to run towards Hagrid's house, he had completely forgotten about asking the Fat Friar about Hannah being possessed. Luna, on the other hand, decided to stay for a while and chat with the ghost.

"It seems people are starting to worry about Hannah." The Fat Friar said.

"Yes, we believe she's been possessed by someone, or something…" Luna explained. The other students nodded wildly, wondering why the thought never had hit them.

"I have noticed this… greenish aura around Hannah lately, it is probably as you say." The Fat Friar confirmed.

"Well,thank you so much for your help. Have a nice day sir."

And so Luna ran after Harry with that dreamy look on her face, barefoot on the cold stonefloor and disappeared into the shadows.

Harry, Hermione and Ron met up outside close to the path to Hagrid's. Ron and Hermione had talked to Ernie Macmillan, a friend to them all, who told them he had seen her outside, digging in the ground, and it looked like she was looking for something. Ernie had tried to talk to her but she had refused to answer, only mumbling something inaudible.

"We have to hurry, we're supposed to meet the others in less than 30 minutes." Hermione said.

"If it comes to it, I think we should drag her to the Room of Requirements just to keep an eye on her." Ron said and the others agreed. They couldn't afford losing her now.

They all started to walk the path down to Hagrid's house. Harry looked up at the dull, grey sky as tiny snowflakes circled down towards the ground. Walking down this path to Hagrid's house made Harry emotional, he missed his friend. Hagrid had never done anything to harm anyone, and if he could Harry would do anything to get his friend back to where he belongs. He missed all their nights together, drinking hot cocoa, talking nonsense just for the sake of it. With Hagrid, Harry, Ron and Hermione all felt more at ease while they battled through the hardship they had to face. He was a light in the darkness. A light in this dull, grey winters evening.

After a while they could see Hagrid's house through the snowstorm and Harry couldn't help but look for the light in the window, the fire that was always burning. Nothing but darkness was there to be seen now.

"Look, there's someone there."

Ron pointed at a girl sitting down on the snow on Hagrid's field where he usually cultured pumpkins. The snow around her was stained red and the closer they got they could see it was indeed little Hannah, digging in the frozen ground with her bare hands.


	4. Chapter 4

**4.**

"Hannah!"

Harry watched as both Ron and Hermione ran to Hannah, sitting down in the blood-stained snow. It was an absurd picture to Harry; Hannah sitting in not her uniform but a long white dress with printed flowers on it in warm summer-colors. It was also stained with blood. Her hair was a huge mess, it looked like she hadn't showered for days, her face so white it looked almost transparent, with her small pouty lips the same color as red wine. Harry felt a shiver through his body because no matter how you looked at her she resembled a ghost, or even a corpse.

Harry went down after Ron and Hermione, they both sat down next to Hannah trying to stop her from digging anymore. Her fingers were bloody and she had lost almost all of her nails. Hermione started crying, screaming at her to wake up. But all Hannah did was to stare, stare at some unknown spot in the distance. It was like there was nothing around her, like she was surrounded by nothing. Harry sat down next to her and looked at her eyes, so empty. He let his gaze wander over her body until he had searched every inch of her. He noticed a small necklace hanging around her neck that looked like a tiny clock. It was in silver with tiny flowers engraved on the surface. Harry took the clock in his hand, a gesture that made Hannah look at him, her eyes wide open.

"Who are you?" Harry asked, not letting go of Hannah's gaze.  
Hannah, or whatever it was that possessed her, gave Harry a faint smile, a fake smile since her eyes looked as sad as ever. Finally some emotion, Harry thought to himself. Perhaps he could talk to the ghost and convince it to leave Hannah's body alone.

"You." Hannah said in a voice that sounded nothing like her own. The voice was definitely female, but low and husky, like someone who's smoked for their entire life. Harry didn't dare to answer, instead he waited patiently for 'Hannah' to continue.

"You look like someone who knows the true meaning of hardship." She finally said, slowly lifting her bloody hand to Harry's face, touching his cheek gently. Harry shivered from the cold fingers, it was like having icecubes against his face. She gave Harry a sad smile, her eyes welling up with tears.

"I just wanted to see him again. Talk to him one last time. But I can't find him." The person inside Hannah started to cry silently, tears rolling slowly like a stream down her pale face. Ron and Hermione gave each other a troubled look, they did feel sorry for 'Hannah', as Ron put his arm around Hermione's shoulders (No need to mention Hermione turned as red as Hannah's lips).

"I'm sorry that you can't find that person." Harry said, choosing his words wisely.

"But you can't stay in Hannah's body forever. You're hurting her."

"My name isn't Hannah." She said.

"My name is Rose. If you would like to listen, please let me tell you my story."

"Of course I'll listen." Harry said.  
Rose closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Then she began to tell her story.

"I was born in 1879 in Brighton. I was youngest of four daughters but I was the only witch in my family. My parents used to describe me as very intelligent for my age, but shy. What I enjoyed the most was having my afternoon-tea, sitting out in our garden under the big mapletree while reading a book. I was usually by myself, enjoying my own company more than anything else. When my parents found out I was a witch from that letter from Hogwarts, they threw me out. I was eleven at that time."  
She went quiet and looked down at her hands, gently folded in her lap. Then she continued.

"I didn't know what to do. The family I loved the most, my home, had thrown me out because of me being something different. I had a hard time understanding why they did that, to their own daughter, but as I got older I began to understand. They were scared of me, scared of what I could do, of what people would think. It was as simple as that. I never forgave them, not even now  
after death, but I understood them. That was all that was needed, and it made me feel like the bigger person."

"My parents are muggles too." Hermione explained.

"Though they didn't throw me out, I can understand the feeling of finding out that you're different." Rose nodded in agreement.

Suddenly they could hear someone running behind them. Harry turned around and noticed Luna, now wearing a pair of thick leatherboots, running towards them, her cheeks flushed red and her hair in an even bigger mess than before from running around so much. Harry had totally forgotten about her and felt ashamed, it felt like leaving a friend behind.

"Harry, I got it confirmed from the Fat Friar that Hannah is indeed possessed by something." Luna exclaimed and leaned forward to catch her breath.

"She is possessed by _someone_." Hermione corrected her.

"Her name is Rose. Rose, please, continue."  
Rose looked at Luna with curious eyes, not letting her out of her sight until Luna was stationed next to Harry. Then she took a deep breath and continued.

"It's just as you say miss. Not only had I been thrown out from my home, I was also a witch which was not a very good thing during my time. I didn't know what else to do but to travel to London. I slept on benches for two months until the day finally arrived, the day I would supposedly go to Hogwarts School of wizardry and witchcraft. I was standing alone on platform 9, waiting  
for something odd to happen."

She fell silent again, staring out in the distance with a sad look in her eyes. Harry dared to think that this someone she is looking for is a very dear one.

"That's when I first met him." A smile started to spread on her lips.

"His name was Wayne. He didn't look special, brown hair and brown eyes, and he was really tall. The reason my eyes lingered on him was because of his laugh. It was the prettiest laugh I've ever heard, it sounded like angels singing in my ears. I decided to follow him, couldn't do any harm, and that's when I saw him running through the wall! You can imagine the shock I got from that one. After a couple of minutes I dared to try myself and I got through to the other side, where the train was waiting for its students to come onboard. That's when I asked for help, for the first time. I told them everything and showed them my letter. The second we got to Hogwarts it was decided that this would be my new home. It felt so good too, Hogwarts amazed me so much  
and to get to call that home… I felt lucky."

"I got into Hufflepuff while I noticed the boy from the station, Wayne, got into Gryffindor, but we had many lessons together. He was really smart too, I used to see him in the library a lot. Other than that he was very social, had many dear friends. I fell in love with him over time. For hours I could sit and watch him read his books in the library, there was something calm and steady with him, like a rock you could not move him, nor crush him. But I never even once talked to him. I just watched from afar, listening to his beautiful laugh"

She fell silent again, suddenly looking furious. Her broken hands turned into fists, shaking in her lap.  
"Wayne was murdered. Our fifth year together Wayne, the kindest person walking this earth, disappeared and was later sentenced dead. My entire world fell apart. I never got better, after that I fell ill and died, it was all very sudden and unexpected. Ever since then, since my death, I've heard him screaming from the ground. It seems he was buried alive. I know he's down here somewhere but I can't find him!"

Rose was shaking so intense now that the others decided to take her inside and warm her up. Reluctantly she was lead to the Room of Requirements where Luna and Hermione helped her out of her dress. It was dripping wet. They gave her a blanket and hot cocoa and put her on a chair in front of a fire that had appeared. Harry sat down next to her and looked at her with soft eyes.

"Was it Wayne that gave you that necklace?" he asked.

"No he didn't, it was my grandmothers." Rose answered.

"We never really talked except for one time. That was when he complimented this necklace. He said it was a beautiful necklace on a beautiful girl."  
Rose seemed to blush of this memory and smiled to herself.

"The lesson is about to start Harry." Luna said and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry nodded silently and turned to Rose again.

"We will help you find Wayne." He said.

"But right now we have to take care of this meeting."  
Rose nodded as an answer and smiled.

"Yes, I'll bring Hannah back right away."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi. **I've been lazy with writing this story. I've mostly been writing on other stuff, some OS, but then I got this idea, or scene in my mind, and here it is. Voila. Enjoy, hohohoohoh.

* * *

**5.**

Right before the lesson, Luna helped the very confused and tired Hannah to see Madam Pomfrey to treat her wounds. Even though Harry's thoughts were clouded by the mystery around Rose and her dear one the lesson was a complete success. With the help from their room they created a battlefield with bookcases thrown down to the ground, chairs and tables spread out across the room and a few fires spread out across the room. It looked like complete chaos, a real battlefield. There were also ropes in the ceiling; this was their chance to use their imagination! With the dolls moving in unreadable patterns it was quite a difficult lesson indeed. If one of the dolls hit you, who sent out completely harmless sparks, you would be covered with red paint, symbolizing blood. The idea was perfect and they decided to have this sort of training in a not too distant future.

After the lesson Harry, Ron and Hermione went to check on Hannah but were refused my Madam Pomfrey.  
"What this girl needs now is to rest. Come back tomorrow!"

And so she closed the door right in their faces. Not long after that a very confused Luna stumbled out of the room, looking like she just woke up. Together they walked back to their towers.

"That Madame Pomfrey, she's really got some nerve to deny us like that." Ron spat out.  
"She is right though, Ron." Hermione said.  
"Hannah must be very confused. We'll go back tomorrow and start looking for this Wayne. Perhaps finding him is the only way to get Rose out of Hannah's body."

Harry nodded silently, his brain working at full speed. The mystery around Wayne was truly… intriguing. How could a boy suddenly disappear like that? And Rose, who died from a disease, just months later… That could not be a coincidence. Harry gave out a loud sigh, this would keep him up all night so he figured he might as well stay up and read a book, find something useful that could perhaps help them solve this mystery.

They waved good night to Luna and set off for their common room. Harry could hear Hermione and Ron nag about something uninteresting and unimportant as usual in the background, but he wasn't really paying attention. His mind kept on thinking about something… Rose's personality. How she never spoke to Wayne, but only looked at him from a far, like an angel watching over someone.  
_Or a devil._

* * *

Then sun was slowly rising in the distance when Harry looked up from his book. He was sitting at his usual spot by the window, reading a book about ghosts and possessing objects, but he couldn't find anything new that Hermione hadn't already told them. It was her book after all, he should've figured.

But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't stop this hesitating feeling growing inside of him. Something inside of him kept telling him that Rose was hiding some very important piece of evidence. It was nothing but a feeling, but enough to let Harry's thoughts slip away to all these _maybe's._ Harry was doubting, and he felt that he had reason to do so. He would have to talk to Rose, undisturbed, all alone. Since he's stomach was growling like a lion he decided to eat an early breakfast and then somehow sneak into Hannah's room and talk to her, see if he could lure out Rose somehow.

Ron was still sleeping soundly when Harry snuck out, as silent as a mouse. It was kind of nice to walk around Hogwarts without its students filling the corridors. It was all very silent and peaceful, Harry felt that he could really absorb the castles beauty now without all the chaos. It was truly magnificent. He thought about all the former students, about their history who became Hogwarts history as well. This was a castle with many secrets, secrets very well hidden, like Rose's story. When he thought about it like that, he truly started to respect the castle, with all the good and evil thoughts and stories it hid so well, not taking any side.

He walked slowly but eventually he reached the great hall. It was all empty, not a single soul was eating breakfast this early even though it was all served and ready on the tables. Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table, not really knowing what to eat from all the different dishes that were presented with great expertise in front of him. Every dish was in its own a piece of art, he didn't almost want to ruin it. But then again, he was very hungry.

"Are you awake already, Harry?" a deep thunderous voice said behind.  
Surprised, Harry turned around to find Dumbledore stand with a gentle smile on his face, watching him through his half-moon shaped spectacles.  
"Yes, I couldn't sleep." Harry answered.

Dumbledore sat down beside Harry and, without any hesitation, grabbed one out of everything on the table. Harry watched Dumbledore with a smile on his face, this old man truly knew how to amaze him.

"Why did you have trouble sleeping, my son?" Dumbledore suddenly asked.  
"I've had a lot on my mind for a while." Harry answered after a moment of silence.  
"Haven't really had time for sleep."  
"Oh, but there are some things in life that you have to make time for." Dumbledore said and gave him a look a parent would give its child. It made Harry feel all warm inside.  
Harry sighed and smiled for himself, looking down at his empty plate.  
"Dumbledore, can I ask you something?"  
Dumbledore gave him a simple, almost unnoticeable nod as an answer.  
"If you think about everything that has happened this far…" Harry began to say but stumbled a little on his words. He hadn't really told anyone about this before, it was difficult for him to open up and talk about this particular subject.

"I mean, bad things happen to a lot of people. How come so many don't ever give up? If you think about all the bad that has happened to us, you and me for example, wouldn't you say it's a miracle that we can find the energy to keep on living as we do, to go up every morning and eat breakfast, like nothing has happened?"  
"Oh, but everything has happened." Dumbledore said.  
"And that is why we keep on living. Because those moments have shaped us into strong people, it has done us no harm but only taught us how to handle it. But, I see your point. A person can only handle so much hardship before it breaks. But not yet, Harry. You will not break just yet."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked feeling upset, because this was his greatest fear: To feel defeated and give up before everything with Voldemort had been sorted. He felt responsible, for_ everything_, and that was a very heavy burden to bear, since Harry didn't even have a choice but to fight.  
Dumbledore gave him a smile and put a gentle hand on Harrys shoulder.

"Because you have people you wish to protect." He said.  
"Love can give us everything that we need to keep on living, even if it's one moment or an entire lifetime, it will always provide you with what you need to succeed. Never forget that, my son."

And with that, Dumbledore rose to his feet, without eating a single crumb from his plate, and walked gracefully away. Harry watched as the gap between him and Dumbledore grew bigger, separating them from each other. _Two different worlds._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Short chapter ahead, sorry 'bout that. Other than that, enjoy and if you feel like you have something to say, be it positive or negative, please review! Constructive criticism is always good!

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**6.**

Harry ended up skipping breakfast and went directly back to his room to get his invisibility cloak. He felt the need to confront Rose, ask what her intentions really were. He hid under the cloak and walked silently through the corridors until he got to the hospital wing. The door was locked but with a simple alohomora-spell he quickly got inside.

It was completely empty in the big, white room except for Hannah. On the sidetable was a small bouquet of lily of the valley, a glass of water and a book. Hannah's pale face looked almost like a part of the bed, she was as white as the bed sheets. Her brown her seemed to flow around her like a tangled mess, it almost looked like a birds nest, her broken lips as red as blood. Harry walked silently up towards her, with his invisibility cloak still around him. He could see a chain still around her neck, they hadn't removed the necklace. Harry lifted his hand and reached for it, trying to remove it from around her neck, when Hannah opened her eyes and sat up with a twitch. Harry quickly hid his hand again but he could see Hannah looking straight at him, even though he wasn't visible.

"I know you are in here." It was Rose speaking. She looked haunted when she spoke. Her eyes were the size of teacups, with big blue circles under them, her mouth twitching into a crooked smile.

Harry found no more reason to hide and removed the cloak from around his shoulders. He appeared as if from thin air in front of her, his dark hair a mess and with intense green eyes.

"Rose, we need to talk." He said.

"No need to hide our intentions, I see." Rose said and eyed Harry slowly, taking in every detail from his face to his body. Her eyes felt like X-rays, like she could see past his clothes and past his skin. It made Harry shiver, and she noticed that too.

"Why were you hiding from me?" Rose asked, tilting her head in a weird flirtatious way.

"You suddenly seem... kind of different." Harry said.

"Are you scared that I will remove that necklace from around Hannah's neck?"

"That's none of your business." Rose said through gritted teeth.

"You promised you'd help me find Wayne. Why would you want to remove the necklace, and therefore remove me? You promised, don't you remember?"

"I know you're hiding something." Harry said, refusing to back down because of her anger.

"It doesn't matter that you have a good reason to be here, finding your loved one and all. You're still a threat to Hannah. Now, tell me the truth."

Rose started laughing, a low laughter that sounded like a wolf growling when it sees their pray. Her husky voice sounded like thunder from a distance. When she looked at Harry again, her eyes were completely different, like a filter had been removed and she showed her true emotions now.

"We all hide things from each other. Nothing wrong with that." Rose said with a smile playing on her lips.

"I think it's time to remove that necklace." Harry said, filled with anger.

"You're hurting Hannah."

"This body is mine now!" Rose yelled, flipping over the side table. The vase crashed against the cold stone floor, breaking into thousands of pieces. The beautiful flowers spread across the floor in a chaos of glass and water. Harry realized the danger in the situation, grabbed his wand and pointed it at Rose.

"You move one inch and I swear I will hurt Hannah's body if it means hurting you." Harry hissed out.  
There was a war taking place inside of him because he didn't mean one word of what he'd just said. He could never hurt Hannah, even if it meant hurting Rose.  
_  
Rose understood that._

As quick as a shadow she jumped out of bed and through one of the windows in the hospital wing, her white dress flying around her like a cloud, her hair whipping around her face. Tiny drops of blood began to rain out on the front yard together with the crushed glass. Rose didn't even care to protect her face.  
Harry was to slow to react and could do nothing but watch as Rose disappeared into the morning mist. In disappointment he kicked the bed, grabbed his invisibility cloak from the floor and threw it around his shoulders. To any visible eye, he had now disappeared. Exactly what he felt like doing after failing his confrontation with Rose. Not only had he angered Rose to the extent that she might hurt Hannah's body intentionally, he had also lost her. She was gone once again and he had no idea how he would find her.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Wow**... This story is really coming to an end. Ha! Well... enjoy you guys! :D and don't forget to R/R, it's oh so appreciated. **UPDATE:** I've done some minor changes, because some parts just made me confused. Sorry about that.

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**7.**

Harry was silently making his way out of the castle, his invisibility cloak tight around his body. It was freezing outside and the cold went right through his thin shirt and pants. The cloak didn't really help either, its fabric didn't seem to be affected by temperature and had always had a cool feel to it. Harry's breath created tiny little clouds that he was afraid would give him away if he met someone. Fortunately, the school ground was deserted in front of him. Nothing but the wind and a few crows could be heard.

Harry walked around the castle in search of Rose but couldn't see anything. When he got to the broken window he could see footsteps leading towards the forbidden forest.

"_This is bad._" He thought.  
"_Hannah is still only a human being. She won't last long in this cold._"

After removing the footprints in the snow with a simple spell, he made his way back to the Gryffindor tower as fast as he could, where most students now were awake. He found Ron and Hermione standing by the fire in the common room, discussing Harry's whereabouts.

"I don't know Hermione, he wasn't in his bed when I woke up." Ron said and shrugged.  
"Why do you have to sleep so deeply?" Hermione complained.  
"A normal person would've woken up, he had to make some kind of noise!"  
"But no one else woke up either, Hermione." Ron exclaimed, getting a bit frustrated.  
"This is not my fault. I bet Harry will come through that door any second now."  
This was Harry's chance. He snuck up next to Ron and leaned in as close as he dared without his friend noticing.  
"Meet me by Hagrid's house in five minutes." Harry whispered in Ron's ear and backed off.

Ron spat around and looked feverishly for what it was that had whispered in his ear, while Hermione cast a suspicious glance at him.

"Ron, why in the world do you think it's appropriate to dance…"  
"Hermione, I think someone just told me to be at Hagrid's in five minutes." He said, cutting of Hermione in midsentence.

Hermione rolled her eyes, obviously understanding that it had been Harry, and pulled Ron out of the common room, Harry came short after them.

"Harry, are you there?" Hermione asked, still holding Ron's hand in a tight grip and dragging him along.

As soon as they got to a deserted corridor, Harry removed the cloak from his shoulders and ran up next to Hermione.

"Something happened with Rose." He explained.  
"You'll find out soon enough, people will probably talk about it."

And just like that, Seamus Finnigan came running towards them, his steps echoing in the almost empty corridor.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione." He said and stopped breathless in front of them.  
"Have you heard, about what happened to Hannah?"  
"What happened to Hannah, Seamus?" Hermione asked and gave Harry a concerned look.  
"It seems she escaped from the hospital wing, she jumped right out the window!" Seamus burst out.

He seemed to be happy that none of them had heard the news yet, and that he was the one who provided them with the information.

"Luckily, the hospital wing is on the first floor. Who knows what else could've happened."

Harry gave Ron and Hermione a look and they darted past Seamus, running towards the main yard. On their way out, Harry told them his story, about how he had doubted Rose and her story and had confronted her – without success.

"Harry, the teachers will investigate to see if someone came into the hospital wing to speak with Hannah." Hermione said, a bit out of breath from all the running. She didn't enjoy it after all.  
"They will see that it was your wand that opened the door with the alohomora-spell. And that is bad."

Harry never thought of that and wished he had gotten in any other way.

"So she ran into the forbidden forest?" Ron asked.  
"Yes, that's where her footprints led." Harry explained.  
"But I removed them so no one could follow her. We don't want the teachers to come and interrupt us."

Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement and continued running.

A group of students and teachers were standing outside the broken window by the hospital wing when the three of them got there. They all hid under the invisibility cloak and snuck past them, Hermione erasing their footprints.

* * *

When they entered the forbidden forest they had a hard time finding Hannah's footprints at first, until Ron found them behind a huge rock, they were irregular and all over the place so she'd probably been stumbling around. Tiny drops of red were visible in the white snow.

"It seems she didn't go unhurt from her little circus trick." Harry said and bent down.

The tiny drops looked like pearls in the snow, glistening even though it was cloudy outside. Hermione and Rom bent down beside him and they looked into the forest.

"Do you think Hannah will be all right?" Hermione asked. She sounded worried.  
"It's so cold outside, and she wasn't wearing anything other than her hospital clothes."  
"We'll find her." Ron said put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled, a weak smile.  
"Let's go." Harry said and stood up, looking around. It was still light out but he knew it would change soon enough. In a few hours, the forest would be covered in pitch-black darkness, and it would make everything a lot more difficult.  
The three stood up and began their search for Hannah, with mysterious eyes watching them from the shadows.

* * *

Hermione soon realized that the cold was not in their favor, so she performed a flame spell to keep them warm. Soon, they all carried a blue flame in a jar that kept their hands from freezing to ice cubes. Harry knew he had seen this spell before, and remembered it to be called bluebell flames. Hermione never seized to amaze him, Harry thought. Her mind was like a book that never ended, an endless source of information. Harry smiled when he thought about how many times she had saved his life and thanked her for being so patient with both him and Ron.

"Harry, Hermione, look." Ron whispered and grabbed their coats to stop them.

The three of them bent down behind a bush. Harry peered up and noticed Hannah, or Rose, standing in the middle of a glade. Her entire body was shaking like a leaf dancing in the wind, her knees as wobbly as a newborn fawn. Her body looked blue-ish from being out in the cold for so long, it made her look inhuman. Harry could feel Hermione stiffen up next to him. The sight of her made them all very worried.

"I know you are here, Harry." It was Rose speaking. Her voice was weak, like a soft whisper, but loud enough for him to hear her.

The wind was still here, not a sound could be heard around them. It made Harry suspicious, like someone was watching them. He shook the feeling of his shoulders and focused on the problem ahead. _Rose._

He thought about the options he had. He really wanted to give Rose one last time to tell them the truth about her life, what had happened and how she had died. But to walk up to her could also mean that she would attack him, and then he would have to fight back.  
_Or did he?_

Harry decided in a split second and threw the invisibility cloak around his shoulders and snuck out. He could hear Hermione and Ron protest behind him but he didn't listen to it, he couldn't even make out the words. He was so set on rescuing Hannah that nothing else mattered. Behind him were no visible footsteps. This way, Rose would never guess where the others were hidden.

When he was right behind her, he removed the invisibility cloak and entered the visible world once again. He could only see the back of Hannah's body, her spine so visible through her skin. She had lost a lot of weight. She looked like a child with that oversized dress hanging on her like a rag.

"Rose, what are you doing?" Harry asked, his hands turning into fists at his sides.

Rose turned around, a big smile on her face. It was the most honest smile he'd ever seen on her face.

"Want me to tell you what really happened to Wayne?" she asked.  
_"I killed him."_


	8. Chapter 8

**8.**

Harry could hear Hermione gasp behind him and hoped that Rose didn't hear her. His heart was fluttering in his chest like a butterfly and tiny drops of sweat appeared on his temples.

"Why did you kill him, Rose?" Harry asked and let out much more emotion than he wanted to.

Rose gave him a sad smile, her dry lips were covered with red dots of blood.

"I remember it all now." She said in a small voice.  
"He obviously wanted to be with me, I know what's what he actually wanted. But he couldn't thanks to those stupid friends he always carried around with him."

Her voice suddenly sounded poisonous, like there was venom dripping down from her mouth when she uttered those words, like the blood that ran down her arms. The cuts on her body from the window didn't seem to be very deep which made Harry relax a little bit. But you could see she was freezing, her lips looked as blue as the sky. Harry couldn't stop wondering whether she would be able to stand up for much longer.

"Then why didn't you just kill his friends?" Harry asked.  
"If they were the problem, why not get rid of them instead?"  
"Because, Wayne didn't want that." Rose explained.  
"I asked him you know. I asked him if he wanted me to do it, but he just ran away. That's when I understood that if I killed his friends he would actually mourn. I didn't want to put that on his conscience."

She took a deep, shaky breath and looked up at the sky. It was getting darker by the minute, and it was getting difficult to see anything except darkness between the trees. Seeing Rose with her white pale skin and her white dress spotted with red was such a contrast to the background that Harry thought this could actually be a beautiful picture. But under these circumstances, it only made him sick.

"You see, I didn't want to kill him but I had no choice." She said, tears began streaming down her face.  
"I wanted to be with him. I just wanted him to be happy. So after I had finally confronted him and realized that I couldn't kill his friends, I ran after him. I ran so fast but I still lost him when he entered the dark forest. I followed him for as long as I could, listening to his footsteps. When I  
finally found him he was standing right here."

She buried her toes in the white, cold snow, marking the spot where he had stood.

"I think he knew I would follow him, and he wanted to confront me somewhere no one could listen to us. It made my heart skip a beat, and I was wondering if maybe we would actually kiss. That's when he pointed his wand at me."

She looked down at her dirty feet and covered them under the white snow. Tears were now streaming down her face like two separate rivers, dripping down like a waterfall on the ground. Some of the tears were colored red with blood.

"I had no choice but to do it then. I killed him as quickly and painless as I could."

She was sobbing loudly now, her entire body was twitching, like a wave of electricity was running through her body.

"I didn't want people to start thinking that I had had anything to do with it so I buried him here and gave myself poison so I would die. I dragged it out for as long as I could but I missed him so much. And then I couldn't find him, when I finally had died I couldn't find him!"

The entire forest echoed with her voice, she was screaming in desperation. Rose was a very troubled and sad girl. Somewhere deep down, Harry thought she must've regretted what she had done, but it was to late now. She knew it too, that things would never be the same.

"You could've just asked him to be with you while you were still alive. You could've built up the courage to do it." Harry said it as careful as he possibly could but Rose looked up at him with fierce eyes and bared her teeth like an animal. Perhaps this wasn't the time to make her feel guilty, she had had plenty of time to do that on her own.

"Rose, I promised you to help you find Wayne but you seem to have done that on your own. What made you remember?"

Rose shook her hair wildly, her tangled hair flying around her face.

"I don't know, I just wanted to run away from you and your stupid eyes." She yelled.  
"The way you looked at me… Like I was an animal, like I had no feelings. You want me to feel guilty and I know it. Don't you think I haven't had time for that?"

Harry could hear the faint sound of voices approaching them from behind his back. Time was running out, soon the teachers would have gathered here and there would be no more time. They would loose Hannah if he didn't do something now.

"I'm sorry Rose." Harry said and took a careful step forward. Rose stood still but kept her eyes locked at his feet.  
"I didn't mean to blame you. But you have to let Hannah free from all this. You're hurting her. Let me help you, let me bury your necklace right here where Wayne is resting. Let Hannah go."

Harry reached out his hand towards Rose, the voices behind him was getting louder and louder by the second. He could even make out some words, how they were yelling Hannah's name. Rose looked at Harry, looked into his eyes like no one had ever done before, and let her gaze stop at his hand. She gently lifted her trembling hand, grabbed the necklace and lifted it from around Hannah's neck. She gave it to Harry, gently, as if it was the most precious item in the entire world. Harry decided that he would handle it that way to, and gave Rose a weak smile. She answered it before she fell headlong down and landed softly in the cold snow. Ron and Hermione ran up to them and wrapped their coats around Hannah's body. She looked so fragile to them, Hermione had a hard time trying not to cry.

Harry stood still for a moment and watched as his friends helped Hannah towards the voices. Teachers were now visible in the forest and when they saw Ron and Hermione, they removed their coats as well to put on Hannah's body. Harry kept his back towards them and looked at the necklace, and noticed that the clock inside it was stilling working, ticking like a heartbeat. Rose's heartbeat.

* * *

The teacher's helped poor Hannah back to the hospital wing while Ron and Hermione explained what had happened.

"I think we should leave Harry alone for a bit." Hermione said to the teachers when they asked why he wasn't coming with them.  
"He has some business to finish before he leaves."  
And so the teachers together with Ron and Hermione left Harry alone with the necklace in his hand. He waited until it was completely silent all  
around him.

"I'm so sorry Rose." He whispered.  
"I wish there was something else I could do for you, but I hope this is enough."

So he sat down on his knees, the snow whirling around him while he dug in the frozen ground. He soon realized it was impossible so he used his wand to heat up the ground. He dug for a long time, until his fingers were cold and bloody, and until he could finally see traces of the bones of a man. He gently put down the necklace among the pieces and covered it once again with dirt and snow.

"I don't believe this will make either of you happy." Harry said out loud.  
"I don't think that Wayne wanted to be with you. But this was your wish." He turned around and left the two to their destiny under the cold blanket of snow and hoped from the bottom of his heart that they would be all right.


End file.
